Livestreaming is a new trend…you may want to test it soon.
Many of your prospects may want a live, behind-the-scenes view of your product or service, more so than watching a polished video.
They don’t want to miss out on an exclusive video of what is happening in the moment. In fact, 87% of livestream video viewers say they would rather watch online video than traditional television.
The past few years have seen a massive shift in livestreaming video, as hundreds of millions of users are watching live video every day—on platforms like Facebook Live, Instagram Live, YouTube Live, and live.ly.
Livestreaming video on any of these platforms can be an incredible way to boost profits and see an increase in response, and broadcasting your content to a live audience is also a way to build valuable relationships with prospective customers and gain their trust.
Here is an inside look at the different platforms you can use for livestreaming video:
 

Facebook Live

Facebook Live has multiple advantages. Over 360 million users watch Facebook Live regularly, and are likely to watch video content for three times longer than other video content, which can be one of the greatest challenges of engaging with video viewers.
With the Facebook Live Map, users can locate live videos from all over the world. Content can also be re-watched or shared after it’s over, which decreases exclusivity but maximizes usage of the content.
 

Instagram Live Stories

Instagram Live Stories is a fairly recent platform that has largely replaced usage of the social media platform Snapchat. 200 million users watch Instagram Live stories regularly, and are able to like or comment in real time. Users can discover new Live Stories on the “Top Live” section on the Explore Tab.
 

YouTube Live

YouTube has a massive viewership of over one billion users, but Live Streaming video on this platform is only available for verified channels. Mobile live stream is permitted for channels with at least 1,000 subscribers, so YouTube Live is ideal for those who already have an established presence on YouTube. Real-time comments are available.
 

live.ly

This platform, which is primarily used on a mobile device, has 6 million total users every month and is ideal for reaching a younger audience. The average user spends 3.5 minutes per day in the app. Live.ly features real time comments and has a “guesting option” that allows live streamers to include fans as guests in the broadcast.
Regardless of which platform you choose to advertise on, here are 4 key guidelines to keep in mind while strategizing for livestreaming video marketing:
 

  1. Be consistent. Just because your content is live doesn’t mean that it can be random or inconsistent with your brand. You should also be broadcasting consistently so that users know what to expect.
  2. Focus on one topic or subject. Video content should be useful for viewers. Focus on one particular topic, so that viewers can engage with you about a particular area of interest.
  3. Keep it quality. Live streaming videos should be high quality in order to get follow-up viewers and engage well with your prospective customers.
  4. Have a strong, clear, call-to-action with traditional direct response offers.

 

What are viewers watching?

Livestreaming video content comes in a variety of genres, but can be broken down in the following, by percentage of all video content watched:

  • 29%- sports events
  • 30%- content created by friends and family of the user
  • 38%- music concerts and events
  • 41%- breaking news stories
  • 53%- funny and entertaining videos

In order to understand what viewers are likely to engage with, take a look at the most watched videos on different platforms.
 
Here is a list of the five most-watched Facebook Live videos from 2016:

  1. Candace Payne, “Chewbacca mom” video- 162 million views
  2. Ted Yoder, “Tears for Fears ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’”- 85 million views
  3. BuzzFeed, “Countdown to the 2020 presidential election”- 51 million views
  4. Atlanta Buzz, “People are lining up to hug police officers in Dallas”- 38 million views
  5. NBC News, “Election results electoral map”- 36 million views

 
Here is a list of the three most-watched YouTube Live videos (all time):

  1. Animal Adventure Park, “April the giraffe’s birth (2017)”- Total live views: 232 million/ Most views at a time: 1.2 million
  2. 2nd Presidential Debate: Hillary, “Clinton &Donald Trump (2016)”- Total live views: 124 million/ Most views at a time: 1.5 million
  3. Red Bull Stratos, Felix, “Baumgartner’s space jump (2012)”- Most views at time (world record)- 8 million

 
It can also be helpful to consider who are the most successful publishers and brands on livestreaming video.
 

Top Publishers and Brands and the Average Number of Views within the First 30 Days of Publishing Content

Publishers

  1. BuzzFeed: 2.4 million views
  2. TV: 1.8 million views
  3. LAD Bible Group: 1.3 million views
  4. TimeWarner: 412,000 views
  5. Walt Disney: 266,00 views

 
Brands

  1. Clash Royale (video game): 2.5 million views
  2. Red Bull: 1.7 million views
  3. World Economic Forum: 610,000 views
  4. Uber: 460,000 views
  5. Lego: 340,000 views

 
As shown by the statistics above, livestreaming video receives an incredibly high rate of engagement.
If you are a direct response marketer, this can be a powerful strategy to connecting with audiences. By using one or more of these platforms to broadcast video, you’ll see a massive increase in response from prospective clients and customers—and massive profits.
If you would like to discuss your video marketing strategy with me, give me a call at 310 212 5727, or email Caleb at [email protected].
Here are the rest of this issue’s articles: